Ajit Randeniya

While the Sri Lankans were defying US pressure, propaganda and other conspiracies to elect a new independent, non-aligned, national government on 8 April, the US empire received another blow with the violent throw out of a corrupt US puppet government in the central Asian country of Kyrgyztan.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Kyrgyztan was an important early success of the early 20^th century US neocon project aimed at implementing ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”regime changeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, using billions of dollars of US tax payer money, in countries that are strategically important to achieving their global aims, but were being ruled by independent minded, non-compliant leaders.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Things were ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”on a rollƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ when, between 2003 and 2005, America managed to precipitate a number of so-called ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”colour revolutionsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢: The Rose Revolution in Georgia and The Orange Revolution in Ukraine etc. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Typically, the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”colour revolutionsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ involved a pro-western political party financed by the US that lost a presidential election inciting a crowd of people to assemble in a city square complaining of election ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”improprietyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. The Western media provided the propaganda backup to these ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”colour revolutionsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ by backing them as spontaneous outbursts of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”democraticƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ fervor; they were in fact, conspiracies orchestrated by local collaborators and INGOs financed with American money.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ One such colour revolution, dubbed The Tulip Revolution, took place, in 2005, in the mountainous Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, a nation literally at the crossroads of the US ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”democratisationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ project and the supply lines to its illegal war in Afghanistan.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The strategic importance of Kyrgyztan arises from the crucial role the Manas air base, located just outside the capital Bishkek, plays in the illegal American-led NATO war in Afghanistan; most US troops and about 20% of their cargo arrive in Afghanistan via Manas, with more than 1,500 US soldiers transiting through the base every day, in to and out of Afghanistan. Roughly 1,000 mostly American, and some NATO troops also live at the base.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Due to this key strategic importance, in 2005, the Americans pulled the strings to depose the pro-Russian president of Kyrgyztan, Askar Akayev, through a violent campaign of street fighting, mayhem, and looting. As the symbol of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”democracyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ and liberalism, the Americans installed the former Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiyevas, nicknamed ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Killer Kurmanbek due to his reputation as a murderer and tyrant, president.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Once in office Bakiyev introduced a new electoral law and founded his own party, Ak Zhol (bright path) and gained control of the legislature in the 2007 parliamentary poll.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Since that time, Bakiyev has been making vast amounts of money by using the trump card of the air base, vital to the US ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”surgeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in Afghanistan and an irritant to the Russians; during a trip to Moscow last year, he received $2.15bn in Russian aid, widely considered an incentive for him to not to renew the US contract on the air base. However, he despite announcing from Moscw ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ that the base would close, he entered in to negotiations with the US, and sought and won, a nearly fourfold rent increase from the Pentagon. He also got the US military to refer to the base as the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Transit Center at ManasƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢! There was also a strong whiff of corruption in the lucrative aviation fuel supply contract he secured for a company owned by his son.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Annoyance with BakiyevƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s treachery caused his relationship with Moscow to plummet, with Russia raising customs duties on petrol and diesel exports to Kyrgyzstan. Russian criticism generated by BakiyevƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s betrayel also changed public opinion in Kyrgyzstan.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ During his regime with enhanced powers, Bakiyev oversaw the rise of a massive black economy, operated largely by his kith and kin, and persistent corruption accompanied by worsening living conditions for the generally poor population. And a growing influence of organised crime related to drugs smuggling from Afghanistan, on their way to Europe.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Desperate to stay in power, he resorted to fraud in the presidential poll in July 2009; the leading opposition challenger, Almazbek Atambayev withdrew his candidacy as a ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ protest against widespread malpractice. Armed with an ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”illegitimateƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ mandate, Bakiyev intensified his persecution of opposition leaders and the media.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The long-simmering popular disaffection around the steep rise in fuel and water and gas charges finally provided the platform for the revolt that took place on 7 April when demonstrators stormed government buildings in the remote administrative center of Talas, quickly triggering a national uprising. The bloody reprisals by the security forces left more than 80 people dead. Bakiyev retreated ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in his presidential plane to his power base in the south of the country, and later went in to exile in neighbouring Kazakhstan.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva, a former foreign minister, and a Russian trained Philosophy lecturer proclaimed herself head of an interim government and announced that the interim authority would draft a new constitution and call a fresh presidential election, thus ending another corrupt US backed regime.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The breaking news was that our ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”friendƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Robert O. Blake was in Bikshek in the hours following this unwelcome ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”regime changeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, on his knee, begging to keep the air base open. It will be ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”touch and goƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢: acting Prime Minister Roza Otunbayeva has said US operations can continue for now, and she may have to face pressure from fellow opposition leaders who want the US lease terminated.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There is a strong, widespread anti US sentiment in Kyrgyztan, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ founded on the corrupt ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”special relationshipƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ between the Pentagon and their former leader, with Kyrgyz opposition political figures sneering at American chants of transparency and anti-corruption while they are cutting the most obviously corrupt deals in their country.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ While proclaiming to be democratising the world, once again the US has been caught out colluding with a corrupt regime that had long lost any popular backing. AmericaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s complicity in the corrupt regime was brought to the surface by a ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ scheduled speaking engagement of BakiyevƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s son and heir apparent Maksim at an economic forum in Washington at the time the revolt was taking place back home! The meeting was later postponed indefinitely, and it is unlikely to be re-scheduled soon!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Together with the return of Viktor Yanukovich as the duly elected president of Ukraine in February, reversing the orange revolution there, the reversal of Kyrgyzstan’s tulip revolution seems to mark an awakening by the world population that the so-called ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”colour revolutionsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ were just another trick from the USƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s bag of tricks.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The world is heading in the right direction.